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The Siete Partidas: a Repository of Medieval Military and Tactical

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The Siete Partidas: a Repository of Medieval Military and Tactical 1 The Siete Partidas: A Repository of Medieval Military and Tactical Instruction Jürg Gassmann, Independent researcher Abstract – Specifically military literature that deals with matters such as battlefield formations for infantry and cavalry, the appointment of senior officers, or the rules for spoils, is rare for Europe in the period before the fifteenth century. One curious and not extensively studied exception is the second half of Part II of the Siete Partidas, compiled in the mid-thirteenth century for the Castilian king Alfonso X, el sabio (the Wise). The Siete Partidas constituted the code of law for Castile and set out practical solutions for these subject matters within the contemporary military doctrine and the ideals of chivalry. In reviewing medieval literature, the question as to the document’s sources inevitably arises, especially the reuse of classical literature. While the rules on spoils have precedent in the municipal fueros, it is difficult to identify predecessors for the tactical elements, both in style and substance. Overall, the Siete Partidas offers a unique insight into the mechanics of leadership and the battlefield formations of the High Middle Ages, as well as the crucial function of spoils as a source of status-compatible income for the knightly estate and lower nobility, thus adding depth and texture to this little- studied yet essential aspect of medieval military, economic, and political organisation. Keywords – Siete Partidas, Middle Ages, Medieval Military, Medieval Tactics, Medieval Warfare, Medieval Law, Chivalry, Castile, Vegetius, pulcher tractatus I. INTRODUCTION I.1. European Military Literature in the High Middle Ages There is not much original, specifically military literature relating to the organisation and behaviour of forces on the battlefield for Catholic Europe in the High Middle Ages. Texts from antiquity survived – Vegetius’ de re militari was extensively copied, translated, and likely used throughout the time; also known were texts such as Sextus Julius Frontinus’ anecdotal Strategemata.1 An odd exception is the anonymous, probably late thirteenth-century Italian pulcher tractatus de materia belli, which quotes extensively from 1 Hosler, ‘Medieval Military Strategy’, pp. 191-93; Nicholson, Medieval Warfare, pp. 13-18; Taylor, ‘English Writings’, pp. 66-68. Allmand, Vegetius, pp. 96-104, finds Vegetian ideas reflected in Partida II. For the use of Vegetius and original military literature in Castile see García, ‘didáctica militar’, pp. 271-75; Etxeberria, ‘liderazgo militar’, pp. 643-44, 647. 2 The Siete Partidas (J. Gassmann) Vegetius, but also contains original passages.2 Until true military writing appears as a genre towards the end of the fourteenth century, military-related facts and thinking are predominantly found in legal documents, chronicles, reality-affine hagiographies of military leaders, and outright fiction such as the various sagas, chansons de geste, and courtly poetry. Authors contributing original texts on military matters are rare, but they do exist, for example Gerald of Wales (c.1146-c.1223) or John of Salisbury (c.1110- 1180), but their focus is strategy, not the minutiae of command and formations.3 Original literature dedicated specifically to military matters burgeons from the late fourteenth century onwards; the witnesses, which include names such as Giovanni da Legnano, Christine de Pizan, Honoré Bouvet, Geoffroi de Charny, or Jean de Bueil, increasingly write in the vernacular rather than in Latin. The focus of this newly developing genre is on a complex of issues including just war, legitimate violence, acceptable profiteering, leadership, and honourable conduct (sometimes encapsulated by the term ‘chivalry’).4 I.2. The Siete Partidas A code of law is unusual in the context of military tactical manuals, yet the term is not out of place for certain chapters of the Siete Partidas (the Seven Parts or Divisions), the common term for legislation compiled in the mid-thirteenth century by a committee of jurists reporting to Alfonso X, King of Castile, referred to as el sabio (the Wise). Composed in already fairly modern Spanish, it covers the seven subjects: church, government, law, family, commerce and the sea (Parts IV and V), and underworlds (Parts VI and VII deal with the dead, criminal, and marginalised). Each Partida is divided into titles or chapters, and each title contains several laws.5 The laws are written in essayistic, discursive text, not in the question/answer style of Justinian’s Digests, nor in the narrative legalese of the late Roman Novellae, nor in the terse if/then rhythm of the leges barbarorum or modern legislation, but also without the 2 Pulcher tractatus; Pichler’s discussion on the dating on pp. 14-19; Pichler finds that the anonymous author of the pulcher tractatus, probably of North Italian origin, was an experienced officer with good knowledge of Vegetius, pragmatically selecting those Vegetius passages that suited his inten- tions, and supplementing with own experience and analysis. Also in Allmand, Vegetius, p. 232. 3 Hosler, ‘Medieval Military Strategy,’ pp. 193-202; Çeçen, Interpreting Warfare and Knighthood, pp. 118-19 and passim; Allmand, Vegetius, pp. 88-91; Taylor, ‘English Writings,’ p. 64. Especially Verbruggen argues that medieval commanders invested considerable intellectual effort into warfare, tactics and strategy: Verbruggen, Warfare, pp. 204-350. 4 On this complex, see Çeçen, Interpreting Warfare and Knighthood; also Nicholson, Medieval Warfare, pp. 18-19; Verbruggen, Warfare, p. 288; Taylor, ‘English Writings,’ pp. 69-72 and passim; Delbrück, Kriegskunst, pp. 746-48; Etxeberria, ‘liderazgo militar,’ pp. 643-44. 5 Siete Partidas I (O’Callaghan), pp. xxx-xl. 3 structured didactics of the Institutiones or the Decretum Gratiani.6 By virtue of their style, the text provides a practical and sensible guide to government, regardless of its format as legislation. The Siete Partidas was of importance to the laws of Castile, then Spain, and then the Spanish colonies, influencing also the laws of formerly Spanish US States such as Louisiana, Texas, Arizona, and California.7 Though largely superseded by the codi- fications based on the Napoleonic models, the principles set out in the Siete Partidas still echo through Iberian and related legal systems. Of interest here is the second Partida, dealing with medieval government. The Spanish text used is the redaction issued in print by Gregorio Lopez in 1555; Spanish legal historians regard it as the most useful edition of the texts.8 This article focuses on selected passages of Titles XXI-XXX that deal with land battles (leaving out Title XXIV, which deals with naval warfare). I shall review the content of the military provisions, consider them in the context of what is known of the tactics of the time, and analyse whether they had any discernible influence on later military literature. The focus here is on three areas: the appointment of senior officers, battlefield formations for infantry and cavalry, and the rules on spoils. The Siete Partidas deals with a broader palette, but available space required a limitation, and it is proposed that the provisions reviewed offer additional insights into aspects of medieval battles. I.3. Translations English passages from the Siete Partidas are taken from Scott’s translation in Burns; other translations are mine unless otherwise indicated.9 In transcribing, I have resolved the ligatures in Gregorio Lopez’s typography, but otherwise quotations are given in the spelling used in the source referenced. 6 Panateri, ‘Adaptar y sobrevivir’, with notes on the early development of the Siete Partidas. 7 Siete Partidas I (Burns), pp. xii and xix-xxix. 8 In the context of this article, it was not possible to review a history of the various versions; for further reading on the general development, see Panateri, Discurso del rey, pp. 44-47; idem, ‘Adaptar y sobrevivir’, and the notes by O’Callaghan on the history (pp. xxx-xl) and by Craddock on the bibliography (pp. xli-xlviii) in Siete Partidas I. Lopez’ edition, albeit the one from 1443, is also the basis for Scott’s translation (Siete Partidas I (Burns), pp. xii-xiii). Though the text itself is in Spanish, Lopez’ gloss is in Latin. There is one further comprehensive edition, compiled by the Spanish Royal Print in 1807, but no more recent effort; see Panateri, op. cit. 9 Siete Partidas II (Burns); I have occasionally departed from Scott’s translations, and indicated where I have done so. In that context, I am indebted to Manuel Valle Ortiz for his guidance, though the emphases and choices, and any related errors, remain my own. 4 The Siete Partidas (J. Gassmann) II. THE PRINCIPLES OF WARFARE II.1. Knights, Senior Officers, and Commanding Officers Title XXI (comprising twenty-five laws) is preoccupied with the selection, creation, and behaviour of knights (caualleros); Title XXII (comprising seven laws) then deals with the selection, creation, and powers of senior officers (adalides). It is not necessary that a senior officer be a knight, but he should be selected for his intelligence (or learning/knowledge), strength, good natural prudence, and loyalty (sabiduria, esfuerço, buen seso natural, lealtad).10 Adalides should be appointed on the recommendation of twelve wise commanders, and be given clothes, a horse, and arms.11 During his promotion, a commander of knights should be raised on a shield, where he should strike his sword in the shape of a cross on all four points of the compass, and be given a banner. Once appointed, he has the rank of knight; he will then have the right to reprimand knights and omes honrrados (‘men of distinguishing rank’) under his command, and physically chastise light cavalry troopers and foot soldiers.12 The ceremony has a two-fold purpose: it demonstrates respect toward the commander for the responsibility he is assuming and also emphasises, to his men, that the commander must be obeyed. The commander is given both the authority and the responsibility to arrange for supplies, to post sentries and send out patrols, to organise foraging, to appoint subalterns, to allocate spoils, and to lead his troops into action.
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